First Hamlet, now Tennant back surgery puts filming of last BBC series under threat

Tentative Tennant: Doctor Who star David Tennant steps outside his home for the first time since his back surgery wearing a scarf bearing strong similarities to that worn by one of his Time Lord predecessors, Tom Baker

THE filming of David Tennant's last episodes as Doctor Who is under threat because to the star's debilitating back injury.

Tennant, 37, is struggling to recuperate from major surgery on his back after he suffered a prolapsed disc last month.

The injury has already come as a major blow to thousands of his fans who are now unlikely to see him in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Hamlet at London's Novello Theatre.

There are now fears that the star will still be out of action when the shooting of four special episodes begins in Cardiff next month, threatening to delay the project.

They are to be his last episodes before he quits the BBC's popular show at the end of next year.

Producers are frantically drawing up contingency plans to adapt around Tennant's prolonged recovery period, which according to spinal experts could take to "up to three months".

Yesterday, Tennant emerged for the first time since the operation, gingerly walking outside his home in Crouch End, north London.

Nevertheless he has been deemed not fit enough to attend a preview screening of the latest Doctor Who special which airs on Christmas Day.

The new episode is intriguingly titled The Next Doctor and sees Tennant join forces with State Of Play star David Morrissey, leading to speculation that he will replace Tennant after next year's specials.

But sources close to the show have hinted that Morrissey's inclusion could be a red herring by writer Russell T Davies. One told the Evening Standard: "Nothing is set in stone yet, although David has spoken of how much he enjoyed filming the special and would love to return. But it would be just like Russell to keep people guessing and he knows exactly what he's doing by calling this special The Next Doctor."

There is a growing groundswell of support among people connected with the show that the time is ripe for the first black Doctor Who. A host of black British actors have been touted for the role including Colin Salmon and Paterson Joseph.

Salmon starred as Dr Moon in a two-part Doctor Who episode in the last season written by Steven Moffat, who takes over from Russell T Davies as the show's chief writer for the fifth season in 2010.

Fans have pointed out that Salmon could follow in the footsteps of Colin Baker, who also appeared on the show as another character before he became the sixth Doctor Who.

Joseph is also being trumpeted as a front-runner. He starred in the BBC drama Jekyll, which was written by Moffat.

Velile Tshabalala, who stars in the Christmas Day episode, said this week: "The world has had its first black president now, so why not its first black Doctor?"

The episode sees the Doctor travel back to Victorian London to investigate a spate of mysterious deaths and ruthless Cybermen.

The Doctor Who Christmas Day episode is a major ratings winner for the BBC. Last year the special co-starring Kylie Minogue drew in 12.2 million viewers.